A chimpanzee nonchalantly rips down the set’s paper backdrop. A hedgehog bites its handler. An armadillo makes an adorably slow escape. These are just a few of the challenges wildlife photographer Joel Sartore has encountered over the last few years while working on a series of photo shoots for National Geographic.

The company hired Sartore to help create 12,000 beautiful portraits of captive animal species being threatened by extinction. The project, called Photo Ark, aims to raise awareness of the global extinction crisis. “Half of the world’s plant and animal species are projected to go extinct by 2100,” National Geographic explains. “Photo Ark is a multiyear National Geographic project with a simple goal—to create portraits of the world’s captive species before they disappear, and to inspire people everywhere to care.”

The above video goes behind the scenes with Sartore as he attempts to wrangle animal subjects who aren't quite ready for their close-up. Eventually, they’ll all pose for the perfect, iconic shot, but the laborious process is full of hilarious ups and downs.

Giant squid have been the object of fascination for millennia; they may have even provided the origin for the legendary Nordic sea monsters known as the Kraken. But no one had captured them in their natural environment on video until 2012, when marine biologist and bioluminescence expert Edith Widder snagged the first-ever images off Japan's Ogasawara Islands [PDF]. Widder figured out that previous dives—which tended to bring down a ton of gear and bright lights—were scaring all the creatures away. (Slate compares it to "the equivalent of coming into a darkened theater and shining a spotlight at the audience.")

In this clip from BBC Earth Unplugged, Widder explains how the innovative camera-and-lure combo she devised, known as the Eye-in-the-Sea, finally accomplished the job by using red lights (which most deep-sea creatures can't see) and an electronic jellyfish (called the e-jelly) with a flashy light show just right to lure in predators like Architeuthis dux. "I've tried a bunch of different things over the years to try to be able to talk to the animals," Widder says in the video, "and with the e-jelly, I feel like I'm finally making some progress."

Once upon a time, Ireland was connected to a larger landmass. But that time was an ice age that kept the land far too chilly for cold-blooded reptiles. As the ice age ended around 10,000 years ago, glaciers melted, pouring even more cold water into the now-impassable expanse between Ireland and its neighbors.

Other animals, like wild boars, lynx, and brown bears, managed to make it across—as did a single reptile: the common lizard. Snakes, however, missed their chance.

The country’s serpent-free reputation has, somewhat perversely, turned snake ownership into a status symbol. There have been numerous reports of large pet snakes escaping or being released. As of yet, no species has managed to take hold in the wild—a small miracle in itself.